Taylor Swift Talks Songwriting, pt. II
“Super talented.” These are the words Bruce Springsteen chose to describe Taylor Swift in 2022. High praise, but well deserved. Swift is unrivaled in today’s musical landscape. According to Spotify, she is their most-streamed artist of all-time. Still only 34 years of age, Taylor is also the highest-grossing female touring act of all-time and boasts the highest single grossing tour ever. The accolades and achievements of Swift are rapidly approaching mythological status; however, this is not why she is so deeply admired by her predecessors.
In a 2020 award speech, Dolly Parton voiced her opinion regarding today’s greatest songwriters. Parton remarked, “Taylor Swift, she’s just right up there. Probably number one.” Carole King continues the sentiment, adding Swift “is one of the only modern pop artists whose name appears as the sole songwriter in her song credits. Her lyrics resonate across all generations, her songs touch everyone.” But people don’t think songwriter when they think Taylor Swift.
Justifiably or not, Swift’s is a case of the art becoming obscured by the artist. Before the billionaire status and the megastar prestige, Taylor Swift was a songwriter, and that is still her primary passion. “Songwriting has always been the number one thing,” says Taylor. “If I didn’t write, I wouldn’t sing.” The following comments from Swift illuminate her attitudes and approaches towards crafting a song. And clarify why the legends consider her one of the best to ever do it. This is Taylor Swift talks songwriting, part II.
“I write songs to help understand life”
“I write songs, not just to put them on albums, but I write songs to help understand life a little bit more. Yeah, life makes a little more sense to me when I can take these complex emotions and tricky situations…things that come at you in life and process them and say them in a song.”
“That urge to connect”
“I think as a songwriter there is that urge to connect. There is that urge to say, like, this is how I feel sometimes. And then have fans say, oh my god, I feel that way sometimes too.”
“I disappear into my phone”
“I just get really in it when I’m writing a song. And I disappear into my phone because my phone is where I keep my notes and my phone is where I’m editing. Every time I wake up in the middle of the night. Or every time I think of a title, or every time I think of a common phrase and flip it. I love doing that. I’ll put it in my notes.”
“Everyone’s different with their writing”
“I have a bit of a habit in choosing something that is a phrase that people often say in conversation…Everyone’s different with their writing. A lot of people are stop-start. I know people who will write a verse for one song and decide to just put it on another song…never done that once.”
“I’d get this fear and almost sorrow”
“I remember when I used to get an idea when I was 12 years old in my room. I’d first get an idea and I’d be like, ‘yes, idea!’ And then I’d get this fear and almost sorrow that no one was ever gonna hear it. I’m never gonna get to make this into something. It’s just mine. And there’s something cute about that but like, I want to make something.”
“I never name names”
“For me, I have a really strict, personal policy that I never name names. And so, anybody saying that a song is about a specific person is purely speculating. And they’re going to do that. But the most important thing for me is maintaining artistic integrity which means, as a songwriter, I still continue to write about my life.”
“Start trying different things”
“You can only hope that as a writer, you start trying different things and you try different chords of different structures of songs. Different beats that you’ve never really explored that path before.” Continuous growth via experimentation. This is no doubt one reason why Springsteen has referred to Swift as “a tremendous writer.”
“The purest part of my job”
“There are definitely moments when it’s like this cloud of an idea comes and just lands in front of your face. And you reach up and grab it. A lot of songwriting is things you learn, structure, and cultivating that skill, and knowing how to craft a song. But there are mystical, magical moments, inexplicable moments when an idea that is fully formed just pops into your head. And that’s the purest part of my job.”